Police officers distributed closed military zone orders for four West Bank villages early Sunday morning to 16 prominent Israeli peace activists. In most cases, the military orders were delivered personally. The orders, which are timed from 8:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. every Friday, and are valid from the beginning of September until March 4, define all or part of the villages of Bil’in, Nil’in, Nabi Saleh, and Kufr Qaddum as closed military zones, prohibiting any entrance into those areas. These are four of several villages in which Palestinians hold weekly demonstrations against the wall and occupation, joined regularly by Israeli and international activists.

An Israeli policeman arrests an Israeli peace activist demonstrating against the occupation targeting the Rami Levi supermarket

The weekly demonstrations are deemed illegal under Israeli military law, much like any form of protest or demonstration in the West Bank. In fact, every Friday, the Israeli military issues orders defining those very villages as closed military zones. The demonstrations are violently dispersed by the Israeli army and police with tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and live ammunition. The military’s violence has led to the death of 28 activists, and the wounding of countless others. While Israeli demonstrators are often arrested, charges are usually not brought against them, and when they are, they rarely lead to conviction

The police’s operation seems to be another attempt to sever the bonds between Palestinians and Israelis who take part in acts of popular resistance which challenge institutional policies of separation and segregation. However, those orders are unlikely to deter most activists who join the Palestinians in protest on a weekly basis.